Hrudey Is Upended by Trade

By ROBIN FINN

Published: February 27, 1989

As Kelly Hrudey, a notoriously sound sleeper, settled peacefully into the depths of his pre-game nap last Tuesday, his wife fielded a telephone call so unsettling that she ignored the protocol of good spouses and shook him awake.

The call was from a hockey insider privy to feverish negotiations going on between the Islanders' general manager, Bill Torrey, and Rogie Vachon, his counterpart in Los Angeles.

''Be prepared, you're going to be traded,'' Donna Hrudey was told.

''Wake up, this is serious,'' she told her husband. ''I think we've been traded.''

The couple checked a league schedule to see where travels with the Kings would deposit Hrudey around March 20, the date they are expecting their second child. Then he waited for a call from Torrey. 268th Game as Islander ''The call never came,'' Hrudey said, ''so I went to the rink like nothing had happened. I thought, 'This is crazy; I can't even play.' But nobody said anything to me, so I kind of got mad and decided I'd go out with a bang. Really, I shouldn't have played. Way too many things were racing through my mind.''

In Hrudey's 268th and final game as an Islander, Detroit won, 6-5.

''I played, but I was brutal,'' Hrudey said, ''and after the game I left fast, right after Al Arbour told me I wasn't going to Buffalo with the team. That's all he told me, but that was enough to take away the one percent of doubt I had.'' 'A Matter of Business'

Hrudey sat up most of the night waiting for a courtesy call from Torrey that did not come until Wednesday morning.

Torrey asked Hrudey to meet him, and he explained the reasons for the trade. ''It was all a matter of business,'' Hrudey said, ''and I expected it, it's hockey. But you don't realize what this does to your life until it happens to you. I'm a hockey player, but I have a life away from hockey, and to have your life taken away all in one day is pretty difficult. I don't think I could go through it again; I think I'd quit.''

The trade - for Mark Fitzpatrick, a goalie, and Wayne McBean, a defenseman - taught Hrudey a caustic lesson about his profession. 'Loyalty Doesn't Exist'

''The hockey world speaks of loyalty but sooner or later you find out that the only responsibility you have is to get as much money as you can and play as well as you can,'' Hrudey said. ''Loyalty doesn't exist.''

Wednesday was a whirlwind for the 28-year-old goalie, who decided to get out of town as soon as possible. From Torrey came an apologetic farewell. From the Kings' owner, Bruce McNall, came the assurance that a private jet would be on hand to whisk Hrudey back to New York in time for the birth of his baby.

By sundown, Hrudey headed west, intent on using the five-hour flight to figure out how to come to terms with Los Angeles as his fate rather than his temporary destination. A Talk With Healy

''I wanted to get out of New York and just go and be a King,'' he said, ''but of course it's not as simple as that. I went right to the Forum and met all the guys, and everybody was trying to make the transition as easy as they could, but I can't remember a word of it.''

Hrudey, who for the last six years was groomed to replace Billy Smith but took pains not to ruffle the veteran's feelings while doing it, made certain to have a private talk right away with Glenn Healy, until now the top goalie for Los Angeles.

''This was an uncomfortable situation for both of us,'' Hrudey said, ''but I told him I wasn't here to take away his job, that I was just here to help him and the team win.'' Debut as a King

Hrudey's debut as a King took place Friday in Edmonton, his hometown, and despite having Wayne Gretzky and a cast of sharpshooters on his side for a change, the Kings produced just 1 goal while the Oilers scored 4.

''For the first period, I felt like my feet were in cement,'' said Hrudey, who stopped 30 of 33 shots, ''but then I got back into a rhythm.''

Hrudey marveled at the novelty of having Gretzky menacing the goalie at the other end of the arena.

''Having them held to one goal won't happen too often,'' Hrudey said before it happened again last night in a 1-1 tie with the Devils in which he stopped 33 of 34 shots. ''And nobody has to tell me what their expectations are of me. We don't talk like the Islanders here, about next year and next year. We talk about winning now.''